Episode 160: Trust That Works with guest, Flo LaBrado

Trust isn’t a vibe we hope for; it’s a set of behaviors we can name, practice, and renew. We sit down with leadership and career development coach Flo LaBrado to turn trust from a fuzzy concept into a shared language that makes coaching safer, braver, and more effective.

We break down the four distinctions of trust popularized by Charles Feltman—care, sincerity, reliability, and competence—and translate them into everyday coaching moves. Care means centering the client’s agenda, not the coach’s preferences. Sincerity is saying the hard thing with honesty and respect. Reliability lives in punctuality and follow-through. Competence is knowing your scope, telling the truth about your limits, and referring when needed. Flo shares how she bakes these into client agreements so expectations are explicit from day one.

We also tackle technology transparency and AI. Whether you keep analog notes or lean on digital tools, clients deserve clarity about recordings, storage, deletion, and who or what is responding. Some will want searchable transcripts; others will want no data kept at all. By offering options and inviting pushback—“Is this okay?” rather than just “Do you understand?”—we build agency and deepen the container. We explore cultural nuance, where trust signals vary across identities and contexts, and show how a shared vocabulary helps coach and client align without erasing difference. Finally, we touch on trauma-informed coaching: recognizing overwhelm, slowing down, and honoring the boundary between coaching and therapy.

If you’re ready to make trust a teachable skill rather than a hopeful assumption, this conversation is a practical roadmap. You’ll walk away with language to use in your contracting, ways to model reliability, and questions that help clients grow their own self-trust beyond the session. If you found this helpful, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a review to help more coaches find it.

Watch the full interview by clicking here. 

Find the full article here.

Learn more about Flo LaBrado here. 

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Transcript

Garry Schleifer 0:07

Welcome to Beyond the Page, the official podcast of choice, the magazine of professional coaching, where we bring you amazing insights and in-depth features you just won't find anywhere else. I'm your host, Garry Schleifer, and I'm very excited to expand your learning as we dive into the latest articles, have a chat with the brilliant author, (which way does this go? I don't know. I'll just do like this), behind some of the articles that are transforming the coaching w orld.

Meet Flo Labrato And Her Article

Garry Schleifer 0:32

When you have a chance, join our vibrant community of coaching professionals as we explore even more groundbreaking ideas, share expert tips and techniques, and make a real difference in our clients' lives. Remember, this is your good go-to resource for all things coaching. But for now, let's dive into this article.

Garry Schleifer 0:52

In today's episode, I'm speaking with leadership and career development coach Flo Labrado, who's the author of an article in our latest issue, "Trust. Why is it intrinsic to coaching?" Her article is entitled "Cultivating Trust, a Catalyst for Powerful Coaching."

Garry Schleifer 1:08

A little bit about Flo. She holds an MSML, CPCC, which I'm sure is with the CoActive Training Group, same as me, empowers individuals to flourish and align their work with their life's purpose. As a leader and career development coach, she helps professionals make work a vibrant expression of who they are and build healthy organizations.

Garry Schleifer 1:31

Flo blends coaching, academic research, and practical expertise from 20 plus years of leadership experience to support individuals and teams. She is a trusted work practitioner. She'll have to tell me about that one, and holds multiple certifications in leadership and change. She also has a BA in Psychology and an MS in Leadership and Management.

Garry Schleifer 1:53

Flo, thank you so much for joining me today. What's trust at work practitioner? No wonder you wrote the article.

The Trust At Work Approach

Flo LaBrado 2:00

Yes. So Charles Feltman, who also wrote a feature in the same issue as I did, is a trust expert. He wrote The Thin Book of Trust, and he offers a course, which is called Trust at Work. And I believe enrollment is open right now for the fall cohort. And it's a wonderful course to deepen our expertise on trust and how to bring it into one-on-one coaching and working with organizations. And after, you know, several weeks of training and practice and whatnot, I did earn my certification as a trust at work practitioner, which really impacted how how I coach, how I lead, but also my relationships in in life.

Why Trust Sparked This Piece

Garry Schleifer 2:45

Oh, awesome. Well, I had the great privilege of having Charles as my co-lead for this issue. He helped me with just everything from the beginning to the end, and I very, very much appreciate it. So thank you for for mentioning him and for mentioning his course. He is also being podcasted, interviewed as well, coming up. So we'll see how that goes, and he can tell us more about his program. You revealed a little something about, I'd say, call it chomping at the bit to deliver this article. Tell me more about that.

Flo LaBrado 3:21

And so I care a lot about trust, even before I was a coach, even before all of that. It aligns very closely with my personal values of love and respect and openness. And trust not only doesn't make or break relationships, but it also impacts how we how we experience being and moving throughout the world. And so when I, you know, I did get, you know, talking with Charles, I learned that there would be a trust issue. I immediately knew, immediately knew what I wanted to write about. And the article, it I think I wrote it in one afternoon.

Teaching Clients The Language Of Trust

Garry Schleifer 4:01

Wow. This is a brilliant piece of work. I really appreciate it. And how you folded in some of Charles' teaching as well was brilliantly done. Some things that we want to know because it is called Beyond the Page. So what you couldn't fit in or tell us more about. So you talked a lot trust in the relationship, but how do we train clients in the language of trust?

Flo LaBrado 4:27

Oh, see, that's a good question because it is similar to how we train clients and anything else related to coaching. I'm sure we've all had the experience of having a client that has experienced coaching before and a client who doesn't know what coaching is, but they have a feeling that they need a little bit of help, right? And so, as in the contracting stage, we train clients on all kinds of things, even in the discovery conversations. We talk about what deep listening might be or the difference between coaching and mentoring so that they know what kind of relationship they're about to enter. We talk about the difference between coaching and consulting and coaching and mental health and all these other things, right? Well, trust is another one that we can teach clients the language of trust so that it's more than a value, it's more than a moral issue, but a set of skills that can be used to strengthen the coaching relationship. Like, for example, and I have trust written into my client agreements so that from the get-go, the client knows what I mean by trust and what they can expect from me, but also what I need from them for a trust-filled, healthy, powerful coaching relationship.

The Four Distinctions: Care, Sincerity, Reliability, Competence

Garry Schleifer 5:43

Okay, you said that now. You said it in the article. Give me an example of what is in your agreement.

Flo LaBrado 5:49

Here's what I mean. For example, so I talk about care, and these are the four distinctions of trust that Charles will talk about in his interview. But I talk about care. Care isn't just a fuzzy warm feeling. Care means that I, as a coach, I am responsible to keep the client's interests, their big picture hopes and dreams and goals at the center of the relationship. And that they can trust me to not just care about my business and my part or to hold my own agenda, but to honor their goals and their agenda. And that kind of care allows us to hold the client even before completely entering the coaching relationship.

Flo LaBrado 6:29

Another way is just being sincere and being honest. And that's hard, right? As coaches, we may wrestle with the tension of how far to challenge, how far to sort of nudge the client into a space that may be unfamiliar, or helping them to see something, articulate something that the client may not see or may not want to see. And so we get to be sincere and honest and say the hard things that may need to be said. But there's also reliability, and reliability seems like you know, basics, but showing up on time, following up when we say we're going to follow up, keeping the commitments that we make, and then also showing the client that, you know, maybe they're coming to us because they're having trouble keeping their own commitments and they need our help, right? In the coaching relationship, we get to model that reliability and that consistency so that they can feel one, tethered and related and seen in their relationship, but also get to see what it looks like to be reliable and consistent. And then competence. Competence can be really hard, right? Some coaches may have really tight niches, others may have a sort of like a broad umbrella of people that they want to serve. But it's really important that we're honest about our competence and not stretching the boundaries of what we're really capable to do because these people in this relationship, the coaching relationship, they are in our care.

Contracting For Trust And Expectations

Garry Schleifer 8:00

Yeah, yeah, they are. Well, thank you for those examples. I n reading the article, I've decided on a few more items, especially when I have my first conversation with a client. I do some work with platforms, and platforms establish a certain setup, and then it's like over to the coach and the client. And from reading your article, I've come to realize that there's a few more things that I can say in the beginning of the conversation, other than things like, you know, it's not recorded, you don't have to report to anybody, all that sort of stuff. But a little bit more about the technology and not use of technology, things like that. I do say it's not recorded, but I could also, you know, clarify that a little bit more. But there's other things too, like what you said about being on time, reliability. I think I can expand a little bit on that conversation. Not a lot, but just you know, some nuances as a result of reading the article. Speaking of how do we grapple with this use of digital technologies and in the world of trust, especially with this new AI? It seems to be everywhere.

Technology Transparency And Data Practices

Flo LaBrado 9:14

It is everywhere. And this is an important topic to focus on because it's not going away. I know wonderful, brilliant coaches, right, who only take notes on paper and do not keep anything electronically. But even then, the coach that is mostly analog usually talks about things like how they store their records, how they destroy those pieces of paper after the coaching engagement and all of those things, right? How they might keep things, whether it's in a filing cabinet, in a part of their office, or whatever it is. Similarly, we get to do and communicate with transparency how we use digital technologies from anything as basic as email correspondence or where we store our client agreements. All of those things are really important. So even if a coach chooses to not use recording, to not use AI transcription or anything like that, we're still keeping records somewhere. And it is really important that we are transparent and honor the client's autonomy in that so that the client has an opportunity to say, you know what? No, I don't like that. I don't want you to take any notes. I don't want you to store my information this way or that way. And through that process, we're also cultivating trust because we're being forthcoming with how we use digital technologies and also trusting the client to push back and tell us what will work and will not work for them. And that's not even getting to AI and automation, right?

Garry Schleifer 10:58

Yeah.

AI, Bots, And Clear Disclosure

Flo LaBrado 11:00

Right, we have all these, you know, wonderful marketing experts who are telling us create an app or create a bot and teach it all your knowledge so that your clients can reach out for help 24 hours a day. And that may be that may work for someone's business model, not mine, but it may work for someone, right? It is really important to be upfront. If using an app or a chat bot or anything like that, it's important to make it very clear that this is not a human interacting with the client in that moment. And it sounds really like basic, like a given. Like, of course it's AI, of course it's not a human, but we need to be upfront about that. That's how we build trust.

Inviting Client Pushback And Choice

Garry Schleifer 11:43

Well, you're talking to somebody who is building an AI, Coach Garry and I've always been upfront and transparent with what's going on. And what I'm hearing in this conversation and also realizing for myself, is that it's an iterative process. And will I ever handle every aspect of trust for every client, no. Am I open to listening and working with that client to increase their trust? Definitely, right? So, you know, to those that are listening, if you don't have your agreement a certain way and you don't have a conversation, just notice that and make some decisions on where. So, for example, when you were saying let the client push back, I've come to realize I don't give them the opportunity to push back. I tell them what I'm doing, I don't ask them if that's okay. I ask them if they understand, but I don't ask them if it's okay. So that simple nuance of checking with the client to say, is that okay? And do you have any questions about that? And then they could ask about emails or all that sort of stuff as well, right? So thank you. Wow.

Flo LaBrado 12:49

And if I may, also the reverse, right? So I have this client that I'm working with. Full disclosure, I'm Generation X, he's definitely Generation Gen Z. And I have a client that that I'm working with, that I began working with a few months ago. Because most of my clients do not want me to record, transcribe, use AI, I the discovery conversation assuming he didn't want the same. And I never asked. And the beautiful thing that happened was that he pushed back and said, hey, I'd rather us record the conversations and transcribe them because it will help me. And that helped me to realize that it's not only about disclosing about the use of digital technologies, but also if I do technically have options to offer them and allow the client to lead how they want to be to be served. And there may also be a situation where the coach and the client are not a good match in that situation, and that is okay, but let's put things on the table and have an honest and trust-filled conversation.

Cultural Differences And Trust Alignment

Garry Schleifer 13:58

Yeah. Wow. Never thought of the client asking for that. That's an interesting perspective. Seems I'm too much in control of these conversations. I gotta lighten up a little. Oh my goodness. So you said something earlier about trust and things like that. And how do we address the diverse perspectives and values associated with trust? I mean, you just gave a great some great examples, right?

Flo LaBrado 14:23

Yeah, and you know, trust means so many different things, and it's such a unique experience. Oftentimes, how we trust, how we extend trust, how we handle when trust is broken is informed by our upbringing, our cultures, our life experiences. And that is a beautiful thing. It's part of what makes each person unique and creative and different. However, what happens when there's a little bit of a clash or a possibility for conflict? And that is where the language of trust can help us find alignment or decide how to trust wisely, where to extend trust, where maybe to withhold for a little bit longer until we learn more. And without that language, that that literacy around trust, it makes it really hard to create that alignment. So, for example, for me, like I mentioned, trust is very related to my personal values. To someone else, trust might feel like it's a black or white , yes or no, there or not their situation. Where for me, because I'm bringing that trust literacy, I understand trust to be a value, but also it can be something that is extended along the spectrum. And we can extend it and pull back as needed. By having the language, a client and a coach can align on how they want to handle trust, how they want to talk about it, what the boundaries are for each one. And that allows us to find the alignment for a healthy working coaching relationship without causing unnecessary conflict or creating a situation where the the coaching container is no longer safe.

Garry Schleifer 16:14

Yeah. It may remind me that Charles and I worked on a sticky situation for our panel and it dealt with loss of trust. And it just reminds me that it's not a one and done. It's not at the beginning, and it's like it's ongoing. I mean, beginning is the foundation, the first conversations, the contract, things like that. But trust is ongoing. For example, reliability, that's an ongoing conversation. Showing up, you know, don't overstate yourself, things like that. So, yeah, thanks for that reminder. Speaking of things that affect trust, how do we respond when trauma is a barrier to trust?

Flo LaBrado 16:55

Oh, that's a really good question. And this, first, I want to say that this is where competence is really important. If a coach, and we know that there is a line where coaching ends and should not extend beyond that. So it's really important to be aware of our skills and where coaching ends and where mental health support might be needed in tandem with coaching, or maybe coaching needs to be paused to focus on something else. And that's important to bring up it in trauma, which working with someone who is healing from or experiencing the effects of a traumatic experience. It's also important for us as coaches, even if we don't work with trauma, to be trauma-informed. So that even if the client is unable to articulate in that moment that they're experiencing a flare-up of the effects of trauma, for us to be able to see it, to notice when a conversation goes from really passionate to someone losing their words or becoming more agitated or completely shut down or maybe even fawning in the coaching relationship, right? And so it is important for us to be informed so that we can notice those things and possibly articulate them when necessary and continue to hold the trust and to earn the trust of the client. But it's so important for us to not step into something that is beyond our skill set and our professional recommendation. It can be tempting, right? But that is a time when we may want to pause and potentially refer the client to someone else.

Garry Schleifer 18:39

Yeah. Yeah, I've had some experiences recently with clients with, well, what they've declared as ADHD. I don't know if it was diagnosed or not. And then we have a conversation about whether coaching is the right thing for them at this time, and they reveal to me where they are in that journey. And sometimes there's medication, sometimes there's therapy, things like that. So, you know, we determine whether or not we should continue collaboratively. Yeah.

Ongoing Nature Of Trust And Reliability

Flo LaBrado 19:08

And it's wonderful that you said we determined. That means that holding the container and honoring the client's autonomy and voice in the process. And that right there is a trust-building conversation.

Garry Schleifer 19:21

Yeah, there we go. Thank you. Thanks for pointing that example out. See, I'm already doing it. And I want to shout out to the authors that have been submitting, and we published some articles about trauma-informed coaching. There's many resources for that. So don't, you know, don't forget to check to pages of choice and elsewhere for information about trauma and being trauma-informed. Thanks for that reminder, Flo. Flo, we limited you to 1400 words. What else did you want to say that you didn't get in there?

Flo LaBrado 19:53

Oh my gosh. I one of the things that I wanted to say, but probably would have been more appropriate for another issue, is how do we handle trust when there are cultural differences?

Garry Schleifer 20:05

Oh, nice. Okay.

Flo LaBrado 20:07

And I did consider writing for the DEI issue, but I was focused on the trust issue.

Garry Schleifer 20:13

And you could have done both, Flo. You could have done both.

A Call To Use Trust As Shared Language

Flo LaBrado 20:18

Ah, challenge me to overachieve. But it is, it can be tricky. We know that we are trained as coaches to be able to support anyone in just about any circumstance because we believe in people's potential to shift from striving to thriving and moving towards wholeness and aliveness. But what happens when a client wants someone who shares their lived experience? Or maybe the client has reservations about contracting or hiring a coach who maybe doesn't share their lived experience. What do we do with trust? Or what if the client has made their selection of a coach and it they struggle with trust because of lived experiences? And this is where that language of trust is so important because it can help articulate how to care for someone who may hesitate to allow the coach to care for them, or how to be reliable in a way that will resonate for the client so that they are more likely to be invested in the coaching relationship. And there are definitely cultural differences and cultural different ways to approach trust. I use an example. I have a client from the United States who lives in a different country, and so he is dealing with different cultural norms, and he's struggling with how to build trust in that culture. And so we've used the trust language to help him relate better with the people around him. We've also used the trust language to sort of challenge each other in this sort of tri-cultural culture relationship where here I am, Dominican American living in the United States, coaching an American client, living in a different country, right? Right. And so that can get really messy, but it can also be really beautiful. It's part of our humanity, and with all the differences, we can create a common foundation with the language of trust.

Garry Schleifer 22:29

Yeah. Wow, that's amazing. Fun too, right? I love it. Well, thank you for all those examples. Flo, what would you like our audience to do as a result of the article in this conversation?

How To Reach Flo And Closing

Flo LaBrado 22:46

Oh my gosh. If I can ask, you know, so many questions that I ask myself to explore but my one request would be for those, for all of us coaches, whomever we serve, whether private, one-on-one, team, organizations, whatever it is, to use the language of trust to help our clients build trust in themselves, in the coaching relationship, and the people in our lives. I believe that trust building can help us overcome so many challenges. It can help us to create a space where people say that the dreams that they dare not speak out loud. Yeah. And so by creating trust in a relationship, powerful, beautiful things can happen.

Garry Schleifer 23:33

It's such an honor to be witness to these things that the clients are sharing with us. How many times I've had a conversation with a client and they're like, Wow, I can't believe I told you that. I don't think I've told anybody that.

Flo LaBrado 23:45

Thank you. Or when they hesitate to say something, and we hold that silence a little longer while they work on the average and finally say what they didn't think they could say. And then I I usually feel goosebumps when that happens, right? That's a special moment that I believe is not possible without trust.

Garry Schleifer 24:09

Yeah. Oh, definitely not. Definitely not. Wow. I am learning so much, which is why I love doing choice, creating choice magazine, and doing these interviews. So thank you very much, Flo. Um, What's the best way for people to reach you to find out more?

Flo LaBrado 24:26

Yeah, thank you, thank you, Garry. So I'm on LinkedIn, Flo LaBrado. I joke that I'm on LinkedIn six and a half days a week. So a lot but definitely on LinkedIn. I'm also really active on email, flo@ oliveandgraceleadership.com. And I love to hear and connect with with other coaches so that we can continue to support each other and learn together.

Garry Schleifer 24:50

Awesome. Thank you very much. Thank you so much for joining us for this Beyond the Page episode, Flo.

Flo LaBrado 24:56

Thank you, Garry.

Garry Schleifer 24:57

That's it for this episode of Beyond the Page. For more episodes, subscribe via the podcast app that got you here in the first place. Maybe it was even choice Magazine's page. If you're not a subscriber to choice Magazine and you're watching this video, you can sign up for a free for a free digital issue by scanning the QR code in the top right hand corner of our screen. Oh, I got it right that time. If you're listening, you can go to choice-online.com and click the sign up now button. I'm Garry Schleifer. Enjoy the journey of mastery.